China’s mutual funds down by over 520 billion yuan last year

China’s mutual fund sector was down 127.6 billion yuan (US$20.2 billion) in the fourth quarter of last year, which was an improvement on the 264.4 billion yuan losses recorded over Q3. Overall, the sector, including outflows, suffered losses of more than 520 billion yuan over 2011, according to consultancy firm Wind Information. China AMC and E Fund – China’s largest asset management firms – reported fourth-quarter losses of 10.6 billion yuan and 10.9 billion yuan, respectively.

However there was some more positive news: in Q4 2011, about 360 mutual funds – including bond funds and money market funds – reported positive returns. Of these, 32 qualified domestic institutional investors (QDII) funds delivered stellar returns. The Southern Global Enhanced Balanced Fund, for example, topped its peers with a profit of 708 million yuan in the fourth quarter while the China AMC Global Equity Select Fund reaped a profit of 683 million yuan.